


Promises are made to be broken

by Fietsisgestolen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Love, M/M, Spirits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-23 11:42:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15605529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fietsisgestolen/pseuds/Fietsisgestolen
Summary: Sunlight, and moonlight. Antonio had always preferred the first, there he could be himself without any worries. It was the latter though that gave him a chance he didn’t even think of having. Some might call that chance a dooming fate. Ever since that time, he never was truly himself anymore. Not since he made a promise he was never going to be able to keep anyway. Did he ever regret making that promise though? No, he did not. Now let me tell you the story, behind said promise. It all happened back when Antonio was still called Pirineos. When his only goal was still to protect the Spanish Pyrenees, like a proper spirit of the wild is supposed to.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is for the Hetalia Writer's Discord OTP Event and actually the first fic I'm posting publically. I hope you all enjoy it. The prompts I used for this are Moonlight and "We'll stay together, no matter what happens."

Sunlight, and moonlight. Antonio had always preferred the first, there he could be himself without any worries. It was the latter though that gave him a chance he didn’t even think of having. Some might call that chance a dooming fate. Ever since that time, he never was truly himself anymore. Not since he made a promise he was never going to be able to keep anyway. Did he ever regret making that promise though? No, he did not. Now let me tell you the story, behind said promise. It all happened back when Antonio was still called Pirineos. When his only goal was still to protect the Spanish Pyrenees, like a proper spirit of the wild is supposed to.

The summer of years ago, the summer that changed it all. It was a hot summer, rather dry as well. There already had been a few small wildfires. Luckily they had all been put out rather quickly with little to no damage. That was not what made this summer special though, what made it special was a certain hiker. Well you couldn’t really call him that. He had no experience, equipment, or desire to be hiker. The only reason he had come to Spanish Pyrenees was so he could prove to his family he wasn’t as lazy as they said he was. Of course he could’ve just come here, sat by a pool, return and tell his family he had hiked. That was not the Vargas way of doing things though. No, Vargas men stuck to their word and never stopped trying.

Pirineos hadn’t really cared much at first for this hiker. He had just seemed like any other person he encountered in the woods, given that his reason of being there was a little out of the ordinary. Pirineos had never cared much for any hiker for that matter. He after all, was supposed to protect these areas from all their danger. And well humans seemed to be the biggest danger of them all. It was during the day that Pirineos was most comfortable. Where he was one with the wind and trees and everything around him. Where he couldn’t be seen by anyone. After all, who could see a spirit? A spirit of the wild for that matter. One who protected the forest from all evil, or at least tried to do so. A spirit who lived because of the way nature thrived around him. 

It was during the day he had seen the man first. He had been loudmouthed and angry at everything that seemed to go against his ways. He had felt the need to scold him for it, but he couldn’t be bothered enough to do so. After all, mere curse words weren’t very harmful anyway, so he had left him to his own devices.

It was just before nightfall, when he saw the man a second time. He wasn’t as loudmouthed as before and he seemed simply panicked. Tears were visible in his eyes and he seemed to be looking desperately at the device in his hands that most humans had on them these days. Silly humans. A phone wasn’t going to work in the middle of nowhere. He saw the last bit of sun drop behind the horizon, and not even an hour later the moon appeared, along with something else. Or rather someone. A tingling sense filled Pirineos and he felt himself returning to the physical form he took on at night. He did not like that. He preferred being the way he was during the day, but that could simply not be helped.

It seemed the human still had not calmed down. So with a few quick steps Pirineos appeared behind him. He walked gracious and fast, as if he was running on the wind. He had a tan skin that shimmered lightly in the moonlight. And his green eyes, that coloured the same as the leaves did of the trees around them. He tapped the young man on his shoulder. “Is something wrong?” Pirineos asked politely. 

The man shrieked at the touch. He had not heard him approach at all. He turned around and saw Pirineos’ friendly smiling face and made a few steps back. “What do you want?” he asked as he pulled a can of pepper spray from his pocket. 

Pirineos chuckled and smiled at him. “Me? I don’t want anything,” he said. “It just seems you need help so why not offer it?” 

“I don’t need your stupid help, bastardo! Why are you even here? And why are you not wearing any shoes?” the stranger asked him loudly, his voice a bit squeaky from being so panicked. 

“My shoes?” Pirineos asked and he looked down at his bare feet. He then laughed. “Oh those! Well I found them bothersome so I took them off. Anyway, I was more curious as to what you’re doing here? It’s getting late. You should get home.”

“Don’t take off shoes in the middle of the woods you idiot!” the hiker called out to him. “I am getting home! I just need to know how,” he said, the last part rather mumbled, as if he did not want to admit it.

Pirineos laughed. “You’re lost? You should have just said so! I’ll help you out. Where do you need to go?” he asked him. He smiled as he stepped a little closer to him. 

Once the stranger had told him where he was going, Pirineos had begun leading him there. They walked in silence for the most part. Pirineos because he was enjoying the sounds of nature around him, and the hiker because he had no clue what to say to this odd stranger he met in the woods. They soon reached the edge of the woods. Down the mountain side was a village visible, illuminated by all the electric lights shining out of the window. Pirineos stopped in his pace and looked at it for a while. 

“Why are you stopping, Bastardo?” the stranger suddenly asked him, interrupting the peacefulness of the cool night. 

“Hmmm?” Pirineos asked him as he tilted his head to look at him. “Oh... I was just looking. It looks weird, don’t you think?” he asked, pointing at the village.

“I don’t care,” the stranger grumbled. “Just get me back.” He looked at the village down the hill and had to admit it did look strange. Something so human, in the middle of something that should be just nature. Well, that was the 21st century for you.

“Oh but there it is, just walk down the hill and you’ll be back,” Pirineos told him. “It won’t be that hard to get there.” 

“You’re not walking me all the way back?” the hiker asked, his voice once again panicked. It seemed he was scared of being alone in the dark night.

“I’ve got other business to attend,” Pirineos simply shrugged, about to turn away from the stranger. 

“You’re the weirdest guy I met,” he grumbled and he looked nervously. “It’s not like I need someone to help me out, bastard,” he said and they both turned their own way.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Romano sighed when he walked to the top of the mountain. He had a big backpack on his back. It was filled with endless of supplies he probably wasn’t going to need anyway. He really had no experience with being in nature. He had just taken everything with him he thought he would possibly need. Spare boots, plenty of water, extra snacks, a blanket, flashlight, a first aid kit, bug spray. And oh god was it killing his back. He had a frown on his face and he was red with sweat. He was already above the treeline and the sun was burning on his back. He really just wanted to take a siesta right now. 

“Goddamn bloody bastard. He should be here. Why the hell was he here last night anyway. Fucking idiot. Who walks around without shoes on a damn mountain,” he grumbled constantly. It seemed his vocabulary only consisted of swears.  Little did the feisty Italian know that the guy he was looking for was right there. Or well, everywhere. After all, when one is a spirit, one can be everywhere at any given time. Except for when the moon shines, that is, but that is hardly relevant at 2pm. 

Romano’s hike continued on for exactly 23 more minutes. That was when he turned around and dropped down in the first bit of shade he could find. He broke open his bottle of water and drank it with large gulps. Once he pulled it away from his mouth he breathed heavily for a few minutes. “I’m never going on a fucking hiking trip again. Nonno and Feli can kiss my ass,” he grumbled. 

He sat in the shade for an hour or two. He shamelessly spend it playing Candy Crush on his phone. There may not have been any service, but he did have his stupid little game. Then a middle aged hiking duo passed him, looking at him a bit weirdly. He may or may not have flipped them the bird but either way he stood up from his seat in the grass. “Stupid Bastardo should’ve been here,” he grumbled. He began making his descent down the hall. He still had more than a two hour hike back down left. 

He had hoped to find that guy from last night, but it seemed he was nowhere to be seen. Of course he wasn’t. He must’ve gone home or something. Or he was on a different trail. Why would anyone walk the same trail twice?

The sun was already a bit lower on the horizon by the time he was back in the village and in his hotel. He hadn’t yet found the guy. He decided to just call his brother and tell him about his trip so far before he went to grab a bite of food in town. He reached into his pocket to take out his phone when he came to the horrifying conclusion it was not there. A loud string of curse words left his mouth before he turned his backpack upside down. No result. He searched his entire hotel room, and once again, no result. He cursed again and then some more before he decided to just look on it back on the mountain. He had probably left it on his little resting spot.

Another 2 hours later, and at least an hour after sunset he was back on his resting place. And indeed, there it was. His phone. He cursed. He was also very tired and exhausted for climbing a mountain for the second time that day. “I didn’t think you’d be here again,” he suddenly heard behind him. 

“You fucking bastard! Don’t sneak up on people like that! I bet it was you who stole my phone! What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be home?” The exhaustion was probably making Romano even angrier than usual.

Pirineos simply laughed. “I didn’t steal that. I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway,” he told him and he showed him a lopsided grin. He didn’t bother answering the rest of his questions. “Did you lose your way again?” he asked him. 

Romano frowned. “Of course I did not! I just came back to get this,” he said and he held up his phone. “Now I’m going back. I need to call my idiot of a brother.” He turned around to get back to his hotel.

Pirineos wasn’t sure why, but he felt the need to follow this human. His mind was telling him not to though. He should know better than this. He ignored that feeling though, and he simply followed after him. “I didn’t know you had a brother,” he said as he began walking next to him.

“Of course you don’t! You don’t even know my name!” Romano called back to him, not at all minding he was following him, even if he wasn’t going to show him that. 

Pirineos laughed and held out his hand. “Then tell me,” he said. He looked at him expectantly, hoping the hiker would accept his friendly gesture. 

Romano looked at the hand skeptical and did not accept that. “Romano Vargas. Don’t forget that,” he said. When the shoeless stranger in front of him merely smiled and dropped his hand he frowned. “And why don’t you tell me yours, bastard? Or do you want me to continue calling you that?”

Pirineos shrugged, knowing it would be weird to give him his actual name, since it was the name of the area they were standing in. So a fake name it was. “Antonio,” he said, naming the first thing that came to his mind. 

Romano didn’t seem to notice the lie. “Okay  then,” he said and he resumes walking down the mountain. “Bastardo,” he added in a muffled tone.

Pirineos laughed. “I thought you weren’t going to call me that anymore!” he said, not at all offended by it. He saw Romano’s face form a frown. “I never said that. The name suits you,” he grumbled.

The spirit laughed and pat Romano’s shoulder. “You’re really stubborn, did you know that?” he said. In the back of his mind a voice was screaming at him not to be friendly to this human. He wasn’t going to be able to stay with him past sunrise, nor could he tell him who he really was. Besides, humans were to most dangerous creatures of all. They used to belong to the nature, but over the years they evolved. Instead of living in harmony with all creatures they became distant. They lost touch with nature, and now they were dangerous.

Romano merely grumbled in response. “Just hurry up. I want to get back to my hotel,” he said, picking up his pace a little. Suddenly he slipped over a few rocks on the ground and he tumbled over the ground and down the hill, only just being able to stop himself before he slipped over the edge of the mountain path into the steep depth. 

“Romano!” Pirineos exclaimed and he ran over to the other who lay on the ground, letting out soft whines. He crouched down next to him. “Are you alright? What happened?” he asked concerned as he helped him stand up.

“I slipped, are you fucking blind!” Romano exclaimed, trying to desperately hide the tears that were forming in his eyes. His knees were scraped and he had scratched his arm open. It hurt like hell. He did not want to show that though, so instead of whining about his wounds he got angry at the person who was helping him and pushed him away from him. “Get off! I don’t need your stupid help!” He yelled at him, standing up himself. He examined his arm and realised it was indeed in need of attention. Of course he had left his first aid kit in his hotelroom when he came to the mountain for a second time.

“But Romano, you are hurt! I’ll get you something to cover that wound with,” he said. He tried to remember the best way to care for a wound like that. “I’ll take you to the river, we can clean it out there,” he said. 

Pirineos began walking, Romano following after him, he had no clue where he was going. Eventually the two reached a small stream that didn’t appear to be very deep. It was rather clear though. Pirineos tore off a bit of his shirt and dipped it in the water before he slowly dabbed Romano’s wounds clean. “There, now I just need to find a bandage for your arm,” he said.

Romano frowned. “Can’t you use your shirt again,” he grumbled, he had wiped away the tears in his eyes a long time ago but the wounds still stung, especially the one on his arm. 

“Great idea!” Pirineos exclaimed and he tore of yet another piece of cloth from his shirt, revealing a tan skin underneath it. He then wrapped it around the wounded arm. “There. Hopefully it’ll heal up well,” he said. “You should pour some alcohol on it when you get home,” he said. 

Romano frowned. “I will,” he grumbled. He looked at his arm and knees and sighed. Of course he had to be one who ended up wounded on vacation. “Can you just take me home now?” He asked Antonio. The other laughed. “I showed you the way yesterday too! Are you really that bad with directions?” he asked. Nevertheless he began leading Romano on his way down the mountain. Once they were at the same place they had parted the other day Romano looked at him.

“T-thank you,” he said, looking away, his cheeks growing red. “Bastardo,” he added quickly and in a angry tone. Pirineos laughed. “Don’t worry about it. We should meet again. How about tomorrow night?” he asked.

“Why not at a more reasonable time, idiot? Tomorrow at two, in the cafe next to my hotel,” he offered. He did not want to sacrifice yet another night’s rest to this idiot. 

“I can’t,” Pirineos answered apologetically. “I have uh…. Work,” he thought up quickly. “Yea, work. So uhh. Let’s meet here, an hour after sundown?” he asked, hoping Romano would agree to that. 

“Fine,” the Italian huffed. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyway. This would just be a good and proper excuse for him to be able to sleep in late, so he wasn’t going to complain. “I’m going now. I still need to call my brother or else he will come here to see if I’m alive,” he sighed. Reluctantly he left the Spaniard alone to go back to his hotel.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

After meeting each other for a second time, they met more. Every night Romano would come to the woods and the mountains. There he’d meet his new found friend. They talked about a lot of things. Pirineos learned about Romano’s brother, his grandfather, his parents who had died in a car crash years ago. Romano learned about Pirineos’, no Antonio’s love for everything that grew and breathed, his passion for making sure living things stayed living. Talking wasn’t the only thing they did though. They also explored the mountains, swam in little lakes and rivers, and climbed trees. And before they knew it, two weeks had passed. 

It didn’t seem like a lot of time. For Pirineos at least, he had been alive for centuries, millennia, maybe even longer. He had always just been there, always protecting the woods and the mountains and every that grew and lived in them.

To Romano however, it felt like an eternity had passed. And what had passed as well, was his vacation. His plane back home was leaving the next day. This would be their last night together. He had yet to tell Antonio. 

By the time the sun went down Romano was waking up. He had gotten used to sleeping all day and then having fun with Antonio during the night. Apparently the Spaniard was too busy to meet up during the day, so during the night it was. How he managed to stay awake and energetic all night while also working at day seemed like a miracle to him, but he just assumed the guy drank a lot of coffee.

He yawned and got dressed. He then went to one of the restaurants and ate a meal there. For him breakfast but for most it would be dinner. After he was done eating he met Antonio on the edge of the forest. The guy was still refusing to wear shoes. He waved happily at Romano when he saw him approach.

“Hey, Roma! Good to see you I wanna show you something really cool today!” he said and he immediately took his hand. He had gotten used to doing that over the past few weeks. It made him feel good to hold his hand. He did not quite notice something was up with Romano. 

Romano frowned and felt the need to retreat his hand but he eventually decided against it. If this was their last chance to be together, better enjoy it. “Don’t hold me like that, idiot,” he grumbled. 

Pirineos laughed. “But you like it! You said it yourself that one time you took a nap after we went swimming in that river,” he said. He had also found out that the Italian talked in his sleep quite often and he could have rather funny conversations with sleeping him.

“I was asleep! You just made that up, bastard,” he grumbled, still not pulling away as he followed Antonio to that oh so special place. It was pretty dark already but Romano had gotten used to that. Besides, Antonio seemed to have no problem navigating himself in the dark. 

Pirineos smiled at Romano as he led him down a rocky path until they eventually reached the edge of a rather steep hill, it was practically an abyss they were looking down on. He stood on the edge of it, Romano a few steps behind him. “Don’t stand so close to the edge, idiot! You’ll fall!” he told him, a bit of concern seeping through his voice. 

“Don’t worry, Roma! I’ll be fine,” Pirineos laughed, which only resulted in a disgruntled huff from his friend. He said down on the ground and ushered Romano to do the same. “Look up at the sky,” he said and he lifted his head back.

Romano obeyed hesitantly and couldn’t help but gasp when he saw the sight. The sky was stuffed to the brim with bright sparkling stars. “It’s…..” he was at a loss for words. The sight was beautiful and he had never seen anything like it before. He lived in the midst of Rome himself, so seeing a starry night like this was impossible due to all the light pollution in the big capital of Italy.

“I know right,” Pirineos grinned. He then pointed at a redish dot in the sky. “Do you see that one? It’s Mars! And that one over there is the North star, which makes that constellation the Little Bear,” he explained to Romano. He eventually went to lay side by side with Romano, all the while explaining the different constellations and stars to him. Eventually, after at least an hour of talking, Romano interrupted him. 

“Antonio,” he said. It took a little longer than normal for Pirineos to respond. He wasn’t yet used to that new name of his, the one he told Romano was his name. After a few moments he did look over to Romano though. “What is it? Do I need to explain something?” he asked him curiously.

Romano sighed and shook his head. “No, no it’s nothing like that,” he said softly and he looked away from Antonio, nervous about telling him this would be their last night together. “Then what is it?”

Romano stayed quiet for a few more moments. Eventually he looked over at Antonio who looked at him, eager to know the thing he was going to stay. “I’m going home,” he said, deciding to just drop the bomb without beating around the bush.

Pirineos looked at him shocked. “Rome,” he said softly. That was far away, too far away for him to be able to visit. He needed to stay here and protect the wild. He should’ve known his time with Romano wasn’t forever, but he hadn’t expected it to be ended so soon. He hadn’t thought of it. The idea that his friend had to leave had been completely pushed to the back of his head. “Oh…. Will you come back soon?” he asked him softly.

Romano shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “I have a job. I can’t just go on vacation all year round,” he said. He then pulled out his phone and handed it to Antonio. “Put your number in there. Then we can keep in touch,” he said. 

Pirineos looked at the device in his hand. He had seen many people use it in the last few years, but he had actually no clue what it was or how it worked. “I don’t have a number, or one like this,” he said, assuming that was what Romano wanted. He handed it back to him. “What the fuck!? Why the hell don’t you have a cell phone!?” Romano exclaimed.

And that was it. They would be seperated for a long time, maybe even forever, with no way to contact each other. Pirineos should have never gotten so close to the human anyway. Stupid him. He should’ve known this would’ve happened. He just had to accept it, there was no other option.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter 2! I hope you will all like it!

As their last meeting came to an end, Pirineos realised he would never see Romano again. This holiday was temporary, his life was temporary. He felt so stupid for getting close to a human. He should’ve known this wouldn’t have lasted. As the days blurred into weeks and the weeks into months, it kept getting harder for Pirineos to recall Romano. His face blurred into the masses of others, his voice faded into sounds of nature and his touch was gone from his hands. At some point he didn’t even think of him anymore. Only sometimes, when he saw someone with a phone and he wondered what it would’ve been like if he had one as well, or when he heard someone curse, and his mind flew to the colourful language the Italian spoke.

Summer came again, and by this time he hadn’t thought of the human in weeks, maybe even a month or two. Therefore the surprise hit him harder when he suddenly heard someone curse loudly in Italian. When he looked up he saw a brown mop of hair and the same red backpack as a year ago. He couldn’t believe his eyes at first. He was certain this was a trick of his mind. “Romano?” he asked with wide eyes.

The Italian frowned. “No, it’s Obama, you fucktard,” he grumbled, not wanting to show how relieved he was to see the Spaniard again. He had been looking for him all day, he had no clue where he lived or where he worked, he only knew he liked being in the woods so that’s where he had searched for him. Of course it had to be after sunset when he found him. What did the bastard do to get so busy during the day?

“So you’re not Romano?” he asked, his voice disappointed and soft, he was probably imagining things again. Stupid him. He shouldn’t approach humans like that. They did really look alike though. He supposed Romano and Obama could be related. Maybe they were cousins.

“Are you stupid? Of course I'm Romano! You're even more of an idiot than I can remember,” he grumbled.

Pirineos’ eyes widened and he jumped up. He immediately hugged his friend. “I missed you, Roma,” he said.

Romano grumbled a bit but he didn’t immediately push him away, he had missed him quite a lot too. He still pushed him away though. “That’s enough,” he grumbled.

Pirineos merely laughed and let him go. “I didn’t know you were coming back!” he said. “I thought you’d stay in Rome. You said you hated hiking.”

Romano frowned and looked away. “I do hate hiking, I just…..” He could hardly say he came here for Antonio, could he? That was ridiculous. “It doesn’t matter, so shut up about it.”

Pirineos laughed and pat Romano’s shoulder. “You haven’t changed one bit,” he said and he smiled at him. “I’m really glad you’re back. I missed you,” he said. He really enjoyed Romano’s presence. Even after a year he still really enjoyed being around him. He hadn’t realised exactly how much he had missed him.

Romano frowned. “We barely knew each other. You can’t miss someone you don’t know,” he huffed, not wanting to admit he had missed Antonio a lot too. He really wished his own words had been true. He was idiotic for travelling all the way here for someone he barely knew.

Pirineos shrugged. “I suppose you’re right about that. I still missed you though, does that make me weird?” he asked. He had no problem showing he cared for the human, even if he knew he should be more hesitant than this.

Romano sighed and shook his head. “Of course you’re weird,” he said. He then plopped down on the ground, taking of his backpack as well. “There’s no one else quite as crazy as you. I mean who just walks around with no shoes on? You’re gonna scratch it open and get it infected one day,” he told him.

Pirineos merely laughed and shrugged it off. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about my feet. It’s a lot nicer to just let them touch the ground anyway, you should try it as well,” he said and he sat down next to him. Due to his body only partially being in a physical form and him being an eternal spirit he couldn’t actually get hurt or harmed like that. The only way he could get hurt is if the nature he was supposed to protect got harmed.

“I’m not gonna try. I don’t want to die from some stupid mountain infection on my foot,” Romano grumbled in response. “I can’t believe you’re still here after a year. Shouldn’t you be inside at home during the night? How do you manage to stay awake all night when you work all day?” he asked him, really wanted the questions that had been pestering him for almost a year now to be answered.

“Oh I uhh...,” he paused for a moment, trying to think of a good excuse. “I actually don’t work during the day,” he ended up saying. “I sleep then, and I work at night. As a ranger.” He doubted it was a good excuse. Actually it wasn’t anywhere near good but he hoped Romano would buy it.

“You’re lying,” Romano grumbled. Why would he first say he worked during the day and then later change it all up? Were there even rangers who worked at night? He doubted it. Besides, the Spaniard did nothing ranger like in any of the two weeks they spent together last year.

Pirineos paled and looked away. “Maybe,” he said, not sure what else he could tell Romano. He doubted he’d believe him when he told the truth anyway. He actually did not want to tell him the truth either. He preferred Romano thinking of him as a fellow human. “I doubt you’d like hearing the truth, so I’d rather not tell,” he said, really hoping Romano would push him more.

The Italian stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about the answer Antonio had given him. “That’s stupid,” he said. “You’re a bastard.” He was rather curious and really wanted to know exactly what this guy was hiding, but he did not want to make him detest him by asking too many questions.

Pirineos laughed when Romano insulted him again, really relieved he did not seem to be asking anymore. He hoped it would stay like that. “You’re still cursing like last year,” he said. “I’m really glad you’re back,” he said and he let out a relieved sigh.

 

Things were picked up just like they used to be a year earlier. They met after nightfall, and went their own ways again before dawn. They talked, explored, and most of all had fun. On a particularly starry night they had even shared a kiss. Of course it had been Antonio who instigated it, but Romano had by no means protested, even if he had been rather flustered afterwards and he hadn’t dared to admit he liked it. He still kept denying it had happened.

It all happened when they met again, roughly a month after they had been reunited. There had been barely any clouds and Pirineos had led Romano to their stargazing spot again.

“They’re gorgeous, aren’t they,” Pirineos said as he lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky. “They’re so pretty and twinkling and they never stop shining, no matter what,” he said softly.

Romano shrugged and lay down next to Antonio. “I don’t know. They just seem like tiny lights to me. I don’t see what’s so special about them,” he said. “I like looking at them, sure, but definitely not every night. Then it would just get boring.”

Pirineos looked at Romano. “Do you really think so? I’ve been looking at them for quite a while now. I’m still not bored,” he said. It was true, he had been stargazing ever since he could remember, which was long before humans even existed.

Pirineos then explained some more about the current stance of the stars, the name of the constellations, some stories behind them. He enjoyed talking about them, and Romano enjoyed listening. Even if it was just Antonio’s soothing voice, no matter what he talked about.

Romano glanced at the Spaniard, not even processing the words he was saying. He was just enjoying the way he pronounced words, of how his R’s rolled and how his tongue rolled over certain words. Eventually he was looking straight into his eyes. Pirineos looked right back at him, his words falling silent, his cheeks tinted red.

Slowly Pirineos moved his head closer to Romano’s, cupping his cheeks with his hands. When Romano didn’t seem to be protesting he slowly pressed a kiss against his lips, it was sweet and tender, innocent and soft. Neither of them pulled away until at least a minute passed. Then Romano suddenly pushed the Spaniard away. He seemed to be rather shocked and flustered, unsure what to do.

“Romano? Are you alright? Did I go to fast?” Pirineos asked him nervous, assuming he had messed up by going way too fast. It just felt so natural to do that. And he had loved the feeling of it, the way their lips burned slightly when they touched and how he felt the need to get even closer to him. Suddenly Romano stood up and ran away without saying another word. He was clearly too flustered to be able to talk properly to Antonio.

“Romano?” Pirineos yelled after him, following him as fast as he could. “Where are you going? Slow down please!” The Italian did not seem to be doing that, and merely ran harder. “Stay away from me!” he yelled.

Pirineos stopped running. “Romano….” he said one last time as he watched him run off into the distance, hoping they were at least still friends. He did want to chase after him, wanting to make sure he got back home safe, but he knew better than that. Romano probably did not want to see him now. Why else would he run away so suddenly?

Pirineos felt terrible. He really shouldn’t have done that. He probably forced himself onto the poor human and now he never wanted to speak to him again. He plopped back down on the ground and hit his knees in his chest. He wanted to hide and never show himself to the human world again.

 

Many days passed. Each night Pirineos would wait for Romano to come by and that it would be like it used to be again but that never happened. He would wait and wait until the sun rose and he would disappear again, only to return the next day. Sometimes he would just stare into the distance, trying to spot an Italian guy approaching, other times he was wandering around the place, looking at the plants and animals. He was so worried. He was afraid he would never see Romano again, that he had ruined it forever. He would pace the area and think about all the things he shouldn’t have done.Of course he shouldn’t have kissed him, but maybe he shouldn’t have let him go either. Then they could’ve talked it out and it would all be fine again. He quickly rejected that idea though, then he would’ve forced himself on the human even more than he already had. 

His heart grew heavier which each passing day. He feared he had seen the last of Romano. He wished he could just storm down the hill and look for Romano’s hotel, but he couldn’t leave the woods he belonged to. It tore him apart. Maybe Romano was waiting in his hotelroom, just like Pirineos was waiting for him. It wasn’t all that unlikely to imagine Romano expecting him to come to him, instead of the other way around. All in all his mind was tormented with thoughts and idea. It wasn’t until a week later that Pirineos caught sight of Romano again.

It was dark, and late. Antonio didn’t expect Romano to come that night either and he felt about ready to stand up and leave. He really did not know what else to do though, so he just stayed there, leaned against a tree, waiting for the Italian to come. He closed his eyes for a moment, just listening to the sounds around him.

“Bastard, don’t sleep in the woods.” He suddenly heard a voice above him say. His eyes shot open immediately. There he saw a mob of brown hair, one curl sticking out of it. His tan olive skin shimmered in the gentle moonlight and Pirineos immediately shot up to hug his friend.

“You’re back,” he said and he sighed relieved. “I’m so glad you are. I wouldn’t know what to do without you,” he said. Romano pushed the Spaniard away. “Don’t hug me like that, bastard,” he huffed and he looked away from him, making a few steps back to distance himself from the other, his cheeks tinted bright red.

Pirineos felt a sting in his chest when Romano stepped away from him but he didn’t say anything about it. “I just….” he began, not sure what else to say. “I’m really sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that,” he said, deciding to just get over with the apology straight away.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Romano huffed and he began walking up the mountain, knowing Antonio would follow him. “Can we go to that river. I need to see if the berries there are ripe,” he said, deciding to just change the subject completely to avoid having to talk about it.

Pirineos frowned and soon caught up with Romano, walking next to him. He was really glad his friend had returned, but he knew not talking about it would only make it worse for both of them. “But Roma, we need to talk about it. We can’t just pretend it never happened,” he said.

“We can. And it’s what we’re going to do right now,” he said and he walked even faster, just wanting to avoid talking about it, he already regretted coming to the mountain. He had missed his nightly adventures with Antonio, but he did not want to talk about that stupid kiss and the way he felt about it.

Pirineos frowned and grabbed Romano’s wrist. “Stop, Roma, please. We need to talk this out,” he said. He looked at the Italian who had turned around to look at him. “I am really sorry. I thought you felt the same way as I do and it seems you don’t,” he began, his heart hurting when he admitted that Romano did not like him. “I made a move on you and I shouldn’t have done that without asking first,” he said and he looked down at the ground.

Romano frowned, knowing there was no way he could talk himself out of this. His cheeks grew bright red when Antonio admitted he liked him. “Don’t say shit like that!” he exclaimed. He looked down at the ground. “I…..” he began, not sure what else he should say.

“I know it can be annoying and bothersome to hear, but I really do and I want you to know. I promise I won’t act on my feelings,” Antonio said, even though it was tough for him to say it.

Romano frowned. He then murmured something incomprehensibly and Antonio titled his head confused. “I don’t understand,” he said and he fiddled nervously with the hem of his shirt, a habit he had when he was nervous.

“I like you too!” Romano suddenly exclaimed before he covered his mouth in fear of anyone else having heard him. His face was pale and he seemed to be trembling a little and he looked away.

“Y-you do?” Pirineos asked him shocked, he hadn’t expected that at all. “But then… Then why did you run away? And why did you not come back?” he asked him, not understanding the situation anymore.

 

Tears welled up in Romano’s eyes. “B-because…. Because I was scared,” he stammered out. “Scared of what?” Pirineos asked, stepping closer to Romano, feeling the need to hug and comfort the Italian but he wasn’t sure what he could possibly do to help him out. “I kissed you, you shouldn’t be scared of me not liking you,” he said softly.

“N-no you don’t understand!” Romano cried out and he desperately tried to wipe his tears, not wanting to show Antonio how weak he was. Not that it really worked, since Antonio had already seen the big tears.

“I don’t?” Pirineos asked, not sure what else he could say. He slowly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Romano. “It’s alright. I’m just really glad you’ve come back,” he said and he rubbed his back to sooth the crying man.

He cried for quite a while longer until he eventually ran out of tears. Antonnio’s t-shirt had a big wet stain on it from where Romano’s had hidden his face but the Spaniard couldn’t care less. “Are you okay now?” he asked him softly, hoping it would help him calm down a little.

Romano nodded slowly and wiped the last few of his tears away. “Yes, I’m fine now. Thank you,” he said, almost whispering so soft he spoke. He let go of Antonio and looked down at the ground. “Let’s meet up again tomorrow,” he said.

Pirineos nodded and let go of Romano as well. “Of course. Tomorrow we’ll meet again,” he said. “Just like we always do.”

 

Once everything was fine between the two again they met up every night again. A month flew by. Now that they’ve confessed their feelings to each other their interactions with each other hadn’t changed much. They still talked, and laughed, and had fun. Sometimes they kissed, and occasionally they held hands. Other than that they were still just Antonio and Romano, nothing more, nothing less.

They met up again that night, just like usual. Instead of greeting him though, Pirineos immediately asked Romano until when he would stay. He couldn’t help but wonder when it would be the last time again. He did not want it to be such a surprise again. He wanted to say goodbye properly.

“What?” Romano asked confused. “Well I still have about a month and a half before my flight leaves,” he said and he rubbed the back of his head. “It leaves the 24th of August,” he said, remembering the date.

Pirineos sighed relieved. “Okay then, I’m glad,” he said and he smiled before taking Romano’s hand and squeezing it slightly. “I was afraid you’d just leave without saying anything in advance, just like what happened last time.”

Romano shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’m not that much of an idiot to do shit like that twice. This time we will exchange contact information though! I don’t want to have no way to keep in touch with a bastard like you again,” he huffed.

Pirineos shrugged, knowing it would be hard for him to actually do that. He still did not have a phone, nor did he have any other way to contact Romano when he left again. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” he said simply.

Romano frowned. “You’re too relaxed. You never plan ahead and you always just do what you feel like doing,” he said, not sure of he liked that about the Spaniard or not.

 

Pirineos laughed. “I suppose I do, does it bother you?” he asked him, knowing he could be like that quite a lot. He just didn’t like making plans ahead of time. He preferred just thinking of things last minute and doing what he felt was right at that exact moment.

Romano huffed but didn’t answer the question he asked him. “Are we going-” he didn’t get to finish asking his own question though. Suddenly the sky broke open and rain poured down onto them.

Pirineos smiled brightly and looked up at the sky. “Rain!” he exclaimed. It felt good to have the rain touched his skin and soak his clothes. The area was soaking it all up, it had really needed it, it had been too hot and dry now.

Romano wasn’t as excited as the Spaniard appeared to be and gasped. “Don’t act so happy! We’re getting wet! We need to find shelter, bastard, and quick!” He yelled at him, not at all enjoying standing in the rain like that. He looked around to see if he knew a place where they could hide. “The cave!” he said. “What about the cave we went a few days ago, we can go there,” he said and he immediately began pulling Antonio in the direction he remembered it to be.

Pirineos followed Romano. He would’ve enjoyed to stay out in the rain, but he also did not want to leave Romano alone so he just followed him until they reached the cave safe and well.

“Are you cold?” he asked the Italian, looking around the dark and small cave for something that could provide heat to the slightly shivering Romano.

“Of course I am! I am soaking wet,” he cried out and he looked at Antonio. He frowned and scooted closer to him, deciding that the only way to keep warm was to stay close to each other.

They stayed like that for quite a while. The rain kept falling and falling and at some point a thunderstorm had began. The light of the flashes occasionally lit up the dark cave. Neither of them realised how much time was passing. Eventually the night began wearing thin and morning came around. It was still rather dark out, due to the rain clouds still present in the sky. So when Pirineos’ time as a human was up, he did not realise it was already too late.

Romano was still leaning against Antonio. He felt himself beginning to drift of to sleep, he was ready to just call it a night and go to bed right there and then. One problem. Where the hell was Antonio? He was just holding onto him mere seconds ago. He could not have disappeared like that. “Antonio?” he asked confused, looking around the cave, suddenly very scared of what he was supposed to do now that the Spaniard had disappeared.

“Antonio!?” he yelled louder, still looking around the cave. He had no clue what had happened. He grew panicked and ran out of the cave into the rain, loudly calling out Antonio’s name in the hope he would find him. Terrible ideas of what could have happened filled his mind. One theory even weirder than the other. He kept looking, especially around the cave to see if he could find any mark or trace indicating on what could’ve happened. He never did find anything though. He was terrified, but also exhausted from staying up all night. He returned to the cave one more time to look around and find the clue that would bring him to Antonio. 

He did not find it.


End file.
